Review on 📶 ARRIS SURFboard mAX Plus Mesh AX7800 Wi-Fi 6 AX Router System: Unleash Ultimate Wi-Fi 6 Speed and Coverage by Jeff Wyble

I bought this grid unit when I moved into a new house in December 2019. I was a little disappointed with the lack of an ability to configure most router options that I'm used to. I have over 20 years of IT experience configuring/installing many types of routers for many people/companies. I like my options, but I was okay with having no options when I got the bandwidth/speed I wanted for my family. The inability to really configure the guest network or general security settings was frustrating, but again handy. I had occasional issues where I had to restart routers when the response was gone, but no more than what I'm used to from heavily loaded systems. And then, sometime in the last month, everything changed. Historically, my guest network has all the lower security elements (firesticks, TVs, smart plugs and switches, etc.) as well as good segregation from those elements and my NAS/computer storage on the main network. Suddenly the guest network collapsed and my family could no longer access our many intelligent things in the house. The guest network started crashing every few days and could only be recovered by shutting down and restarting the routers. It became a daily event and then started happening every few hours. I would check the configuration but the app is terrible. The only guest network options are enable/disable, name the network, and set a password. I can't tell if this all changed with a firmware update (they are silent in the background) or something else. The online information/frequently asked questions are almost completely useless and generic. Phone support is virtually unavailable (and not free) due to "high volume of calls due to COVID," which is reasonable but not helpful to the consumer. Finally, the online support chat was useless. After each SMS I waited 2 minutes for an answer. The answers were standard: 1. Restart it. 2. Activate/deactivate functions. 3. Reset settings to factory defaults. I've done all this before, but as a courtesy I tried again. When none of this worked, I was told "sorry, that's all I can do" and the exchange ended. If only there was another router available, especially in this price range, I would have a legitimate API to try and tweak/fix my issues with. This software cannot perform any of the commonly expected standard router functions. You cannot set up any security other than choosing a password. You cannot control individual devices. Well you can, but apparently all my devices never send or receive data no matter what I do with them. Monitoring is minimal and doesn't even work. If you want to set up QoS, very bad. If you want to set up multiple networks for multiple levels of access/monitoring, that's too bad. If you want to control the NAS and set permissions, no. If you want advanced controls/features, do not buy this router. The equipment is good. Maybe great. The fact that setup is only possible via a lousy phone app prevents the power user from finding out about it. If you need a fast AX mesh router for very basic use, this is a great router. You will get speed. If you want to use the router for more than broadband input without advanced configuration/features, that's fine. If so, however, there are cheaper options. We hope that one day the software will be updated to a level comparable to industry standards. If so, I'll be happy to go back and edit this rating/review. I hope it happens, but I won't hold my breath. I'll likely consider another brand's mesh router system before the end of the year when I finally ditch Arris.